Court Rules That Ban On Teacher Payroll Deductions For Union Dues Will Stand
Image Credit: treasury.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
A court ruling will now allow the state to eliminate the option for public school employees to have membership dues for professional teacher organizations deducted from their paychecks.
Governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 0281 into law in May that would put an end to teachers having annual dues automatically withdrawn for groups like the Tennessee Education Association. The law was set to go into effect on July 1.
The ban was included in a bill that also raised the minimum salary for teachers to $50,000 by the 2026-2027 school year.
TEA sued the state in June, saying that the ban would cost them funds and minimize their revenue, which comes solely from those member fees. The lawsuit stipulates that the pay raise would remain in effect but the halt on deductions would be lifted.
TEA President Tanya Coats said, “This ban was mean-spirited, and the way it was passed was unconstitutional.”
A panel comprised of three state court trial judges agreed to temporarily freeze the ban in June but noted that they were not issuing a “determination as to the merits” of TEA’s lawsuit.
However, on Friday, the judges issued a decision stating that the bill’s caption clearly states what the law does, and including both parts of the bill is not a violation of the single-subject requirement for Tennessee laws under the state constitution.
They noted that the ban “will cause some headaches” for all parties involved but also noted that the concerns are not a contract clause violation and that members have other options for making payment of those membership dues.
Governor Lee has stood by the ban, stating that the law guarantees that “taxpayer dollars are used to educate students, and not fund politics.”
TEA is known for its political action committee and for often stepping out against Governor Lee and the proposed policies of conservative lawmakers, specifically in recent years regarding Lee’s push for school choice.
Most recently, the TEA has filed a lawsuit against the state over a law passed in 2021 placing regulations on teaching of race and gender issues (Critical Race Theory) in Tennessee public school classrooms.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
So in other words, if I am reading this correctly, the unions are going to have to remind their members directly to pay their union dues/fees to “professional” organizations. The state stepped out of the middle, and is no longer going to just make these deductions for the unions. Awe too bad. One less thing for the state to be involved with. Which is fine by me. As educators, they should deal with these costs directly, rather than relying on others to automatically pay their bills.
GOOD!!
Can anyone identify a single union that has survived without employer ‘check off’ i.e. the employer extracting union dues. Once the employees get their money, they are loathe to give it up to union bosses.